


Keep Me Warm Until Then

by talxns



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Huddling For Warmth, M/M, Sharing Body Heat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:36:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27318625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talxns/pseuds/talxns
Summary: Alois is cold. Claude keeps him warm.
Relationships: Claude Faustus/Alois Trancy
Comments: 3
Kudos: 34





	Keep Me Warm Until Then

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this tropey little fic. No smut this time, but I've rated it T because of some suggestiveness. If you like my works, come be my friend on tumblr @talxns ! Let's talk claudelois! ♡

It is rare that Alois is allowed outside the grounds of the manor. The word “allowed” should be applied quite loosely, since he is the head of the household and the idea of being kept anywhere against his will is laughable. No, if anything, he allows himself to be locked away in the manor, kept safe from the world he knows to be wicked under the watchful eyes of his protector, his companion.

_He_ likes it this way, Alois thinks. Keeping him confined to one place where he can monitor him. _Protect him easily_ , Alois tries to think. Though he has no doubts that even out and about in a big city like London, Claude would be more than capable of protecting him from any potential threat. And the very idea of Alois trying to escape from his partner is risible, in concept and in practice.

Alois can’t feel it, but he’s certain Claude does. Some kind of internal compass that lets the demon know exactly where he is. Even when trying to playfully evade his servant, Alois’s whereabouts are always somehow known. It eases him. He knows he will never be alone or lost again.

There is little need to leave anyway, when tutors and tailors and business associates always accept invitation to the grounds.

There are, however, appearances to maintain, which allow for infrequent excursions. The holiday season calls for at least one public appearance, and given the choice between an opera and Mass, Alois chose the former.

The trip to London wasn’t terrible. Alois enjoyed in looking out the windows the entire time, watching the countryside go by and gradually seeing more and more civilization as they got closer to the metropolis. With the sun still out— well, as out as it can be behind a constant blanket of clouds— the temperature was brisk, but bearable.

The opera itself was boring, Alois unable to understand a word of what was being sung. Even worse was socializing with other aristocrats, which, while the young earl has been improving with practice, remains a mentally taxing chore, especially with having to constantly curb his natural accent in favor of what is considered posh.

By the time one of the triplets brings the carriage back around to the front of the opera hall, Alois is exhausted and can’t wait to be back home. With the sun completely eradicated from the winter sky, a chill works its way through the boy and doesn’t find its way out, even after he’s been helped into his coach.

The carriage interior is plush, with velvet seating and thick curtains that attempt to block out the cold. It’s certainly warmer than being outside of it where the wind chill assaults, but the cold of night still bites into Alois’s skin despite the layers of luxury fabrics and furs.

He wrings his gloved hands in his lap, the silver hand warmer between them no longer giving off as much heat as it did on the ride over. He peers up at Claude, who is watching him blandly.

“‘m freezing,” Alois declares, watching as Claude’s eyes pass mildly over his features.

“We will be arriving back at the manor shortly, master,” he replies, as if that’s proper consolation.

Alois groans and wraps his arms around himself. It’s around now that he inwardly curses himself for allowing Claude to lease out all of Trancy’s old properties in the city. Though he’s certain he’s the one who blindly signed all the paperwork.

The thought of sitting through the rest of the journey like this is maddening. “Keep me warm until then,” the earl commands through his teeth, clenched to keep them from chattering.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Claude intones and raises his hands from the top of his legs where they had been resting motionless. His gloved hand reaches out, palm facing up. Alois takes it without hesitation, sliding his hand into the demon’s and pushing himself from his bench and across the small space of the coach to straddle Claude’s lap. A self-satisfied smile curls on the boy’s lips as he situates himself atop the man’s thighs.

The devil’s hands creep up the sides of the boy, long fingers crawling over his back in a way that makes the blond shudder unbidden, as if two large arachnids were scuttling over him. Alois can feel the odd way his fingers bend and splay out, even over top his coat. The hands finally find a secure place to stop, and Alois doesn’t bother suppressing the pleased hum at how they grip onto him possessively.

He unlatches the buttons that hold together Claude’s overcoat and jacket in the front, pulling the garments open enough to snuggle against the butler’s chest and slide his own arms under the coats. Once his arms have snaked around his butler, he pulls his gloves off behind his back to feel the warmth from his body directly. The small gloves drop heedlessly behind the man’s back as Alois worms his freezing hands under Claude’s waistcoat. His fingertips stroke down the valley of the demon’s shoulder blades as best they can under the snug garment. There is still the extra layer of Claude’s dress shirt between their skin, but it’s the closest Alois can manage.

He leans his face close to the demon’s neck and nuzzles his cold cheeks and nose against the alabaster column. It’s warm, the skin is impossibly smooth against his own. It feels very good. He presses his cheek flush to the skin and sighs.

“Mmm, that’s better... you’re so warm...” he moans, closing his eyes and dragging his lips against the skin gently, delighting in the silky feeling. Perhaps this made up for signing those lease agreements. Whoever is staying in that posh townhouse could have all of the heaters and hearths they want. It would all pale in comparison to Claude.

In a surge of possessiveness, Alois begins pushing his lips harder to Claude’s neck, puckering them slightly and pressing a few slow, tender kisses to the cord of muscle under the man’s jaw. A lewd thought floats to the forefront of the young boy’s mind.

“I can think of another way to keep me warm,” Alois murmurs, tongue sliding from his lips to lick and tease at the lobe of the demon’s ear. He hopes the contact from the Faustian seal will incite some interest in the demon, but Claude stays silent. Alois frowns.

“Did you hear me?” the boy asks, sitting back slightly to look the devil in his eyes.

“Yes.”

“And?” Alois presses, his eyebrows raised expectantly.

Claude says nothing, golden eyes staring unblinking, unfeeling into Alois’s azure ones. The boy huffs, mouth curling into a scowl. If he hadn’t have had a busier night than usual, Alois might have berated the demon. He might have even forced himself onto him. Well, more onto him than he currently is. But after all the night’s activity, Alois can’t muster much more than a petulant countenance.

With a dejected sigh he lays back against the demon’s chest, resting his head on the broad shoulder.

He stays like that, listening to the muted sound of the horses’ gait, feeling the way the carriage faintly wobbles and trembles as it drives over the rural road. Most of all, he concentrates on the muscles he can feel under the butler’s shirt, the indescribable, exquisite smell that the demon emanates, the way he is gently rocked with each deep, measured breath from that large chest, and the all-embracing warmth surrounding him.

He barely has a chance to notice the feeling of Claude’s thumb rubbing small circles against his arm before his consciousness quietly drifts to sleep.


End file.
